Tag Archives: Access to Art

Our day out at Kew could not have been better. The sun was shining, the ducks were out and about and spring was in the air. There were also plenty of aeroplanes in the sky, making for a challenging soundscape! Rhys ran through how to use some stereo system recording devices including a Marantz PMD 661digital recorder and a Rode NT4 Fixed X/Y Stereo Microphone in a Rycote wind shield. We also learnt to use mono system recording devices such as a Zoom H4 digital recorder and a Sennheiser Shotgun microphone on a boom!

After mastering the art of recording we set off into the sunshine capturing the sounds of waterfalls, geese, flowing water, leaves under foot, the raking and shoveling of earth, the clattering of cups and the sound of distant voices.

Rhys and his team then had the challenge of bringing all these sounds together to produce an MP3 soundtrack that would accompany the poster in the Museum as part of the Poster Parade in April (on display until 15th May).

As part of the Access to Art project, MA Character Animation students at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design have produced a set of amazing animations based on our poster collection. You can watch them now on our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ltmuseumvideo

Storyboard from animation inspired by Betchworth by Noel Rooke, 1921.

On February 27 this year, 33 students received a brief from London Transport Museum: bring a London Transport poster to life in a 30 second animation.

The students visited the museum and study collection at Central Saint Martins to see the original posters and to learn more about their background. All the posters had been produced by former students at Central Saint Martins. Duplicate copies had been transferred from London Transport Museum to Central Saint Martins as part of Access to Art.

Students drew further inspiration from their visit London Transport Museum Depot in Acton Town. Museum volunteers led tours of the poster and artwork stores and showed them more work by former students at Central Saint Martins.

Students then worked in small groups to plan, design, animate and edit their short films, using animation techniques including stop motion, digital cut-out and 3D computer modelling.

On the 1st March we were delighted to welcome students from Central St Martin’s University to our Museum Depot for the day as part of our current Access to Art collaborative course with the University.

Volunteers John Dodd, David Burnell, Tom Cavanagh and Stephen West were on hand to offer a number of in depth tours of our Art and Poster stores. As part of the course our Museum curators have highlighted ten posters in the collection which are to be transformed into short animations; though not all the posters were accessible, volunteers were able to speak about a range of posters/artworks in the collection by the same artists, which really helped the students put their posters into context both with artists other works and the imagery and trends of the period. The outcomes of the project will hopefully be revealed in a few weeks’ time…

This week we’re showing the film Erasing David at the museum as part of our events for the Sense and the City exhibition. The documentary explores the use of surveillance technology in modern Britain, so volunteer Jon Burdett has picked out ‘Secure Beneath the Watchful Eyes’ by Mark Thomas. He explains: ‘The movie is about documentary maker David Bond’s attempts to disappear from Britain’s ubiquitous CCTV cameras, challenging two private detectives to track him down whilst he goes on the run. Can he manage it? This poster from 2002 was made to reassure the public that the use of surveillance helps to keep the transport system a safer place. The text says: ‘CCTV & METROPOLITAN POLICE ON BUSES ARE JUST TWO WAYS WE’RE MAKING YOUR JOURNEY MORE SECURE’. There was also a leaflet done explaining the measures being taken to improve security. To me, those eyes in the sky are a bit Big Brother and bring George Orwell’s famous novel 1984 to mind!

What do you think?

Erasing David will be shown on Friday 9th December 2011 18.30 – 20.00.

This week’s poster is from 1940 and shows the instantly recognisable Johnston typeface. This was designed by Edward Johnston and has been used all over the Underground since 1917. You’ll have seen it on lots of posters and signage. On posters it was usually added to the design at the printing stage. The typeface was redesigned in 1979 by Eiichi Kono at Banks & Miles, tweaking it to bring it up to date as New Johnston, which is still used by London Underground today. This clear, iconic font has stood the test of time and become a design classic.

This week we’ve we’ve picked out a this snippet of fashion history from the poster collection.

It is one of 10 posters made in 2006 to celebrate 100 years of the Bakerloo line as part of a collaboration between Platform for Art and the Royal College of Fashion. Each poster was inspired by a decade of fashion and de sign on the Underground. This is one of two posters commissioned from Gemma Stokes, who was studying for an MA in Fashion Photography. She’s now a freelance fashion photographer and has had her work in magazines, newspapers and on television.

Last week we had spring daffodils, but this week’s poster is a bit more seasonal – Kathleen Stenning’s cosy vision of winter travel from 1925. This poster is one of four in a series by Stenning. The others encouraged people to travel underground so they could avoid getting wet, not get lost and take cover from some very threatening lightning strikes! Have a look on our Poster Browser online to see the rest of the series. http://www.ltmcollection.org/posters/results/results.html?IXsearch=stenning.

In 2013 we’re having a big exhibition showcasing 150 of the best Underground posters. There are 3300 to choose from in the collection. So we thought we’d get the ball rolling by finding out what people think makes a great Underground poster.

So what makes an Underground poster stand out for you? Have a think about the ones you see today, and posters from the past. Is it great because of the image on the poster? Is it because it brings back memories for you? Is it because you love what is written on it? Do you really like the layout? Is it the subject matter? Is it because it makes you laugh? Is it because it’s unusual or surprises you? Is it something else entirely…

So for this week’s poster of the week I’ve picked one of my favourites. I think this is a really great Underground poster:

Because of the colours – it must have brought a splash of blooming spring sunshine to the Underground,

Because of the simple, clean style of the poster – the 1920s was such an amazing time for poster design,

Because it really makes me want to go to Hampton Court and Kew Gardens, which is exactly what it was supposed to do,

Because I like the work of this artist, Dora Batty – she did lots of fab posters for the Underground (and she has a great name),

Because sometimes when I’m on the Tube, I would really like to have a large bunch of daffodils to bury my nose in.

Please help us out – what do you think makes a great Underground poster?

We’re treating ourselves to another poster by illustrator extraordinare John Burningham this week. This one is a fabulous collage of autumn leaves celebrating London’s Parks. I wonder which park these leaves came from? The text at the bottom says ‘Pomifer Autumnus, with the redbreast whistling and every common bush afire…Who’s for a stroll? Take your hound, greyhound, mongrel, spaniel, cur, shough, water-rug or demi-wolf for a last long look at the sun. Try a different park each week.’

Which is your favourite park for an autumn stroll and a last long look at the sun?

We’ve picked a fun poster this week by illustrator John Burningham. He was the creative genius behind over 60 illustrated books, but he actually started his career with poster commissions from London Transport. This poster was made to promote a book of walks which could be bought from Underground stations, Enquiry Offices and the Publicity Officer.

At the bottom of this poster there is a great little story. It says: “This is a farmer. He has forgotten his bucket. The cow’s name is Buttercup. The wheel came off the cart on the last load of hay. Green Rover, the dog, is helping the hens to find the egg they laid yesterday. The goose won’t lay any golden eggs as he is a gander. First Steps in Farming are best made with London Transport’s Country Walks […] which take you on a detailed survey of the country scene.”

If this was a book, what would you like to see happening in the next picture? Write us a few lines about what might happened next to the farmer, Buttercup, Green Rover, the hens and the gander!

You can see this poster and 19 others by Burningham upstairs at the museum. If you’ve got children around over half term next week, bring them along to the Museum for story telling and puppet making inspired by Burningham’s posters and illustrations.